- So, mediumship, and tarot card readings, and crystal healing, and all those kind of things were very every day.
My name's Danni, and this is my story.
I grew up in a family who were very much entrenched in occult beliefs and practises.
The result of that, honestly, for me, was I grew up really quite fearful.
I hated being on my own, Because I never felt alone.
And not in a positive way.
My Gran was a Christian, and as a child I was desperate to go to church with her, but my mom wasn't overly keen.
And I went to a church school, so I started to learn about Jesus, and I wanted to read Bible stories.
I used to take them home, but I was always sent back to school with them.
I wasn't allowed to read them.
Many years later, my husband and I were expecting twins.
We'd been told that the twins were going to be born, but at 21 weeks pregnant they would die."
I did what anyone would do, and I rang my mum."
She was very angry, and she said, "That proves it."
"There can't be a god."
"What kind of god does anything like that?"
And in that moment I remember thinking, "Okay, you could look at it that way.
Or, we could look at it and say, well actually, "I think there might be, and boy do I need him right now."
And as I hung up the phone, I prayed."
"I promise that I will never ask you why.
"If I don't question why me, why us, what have I done, " "will you just give me the courage" "that I need to get through this?
And I just felt these arms just hold me, and I knew that it was going to be okay.
I was never naive enough to think that okay meant that my labour was going to stop and everything was going to be rosy.
But I knew that we would be okay.
We've been working through the grief of losing our twins.
We then went on to, in total, suffer ten miscarriages.
We fell pregnant with our daughter, and when Eden was born I had to publicly give thanks for this little girl.
And acknowledge God's part, and his hand in it.
And we put together a thanksgiving service.
And I started to read my Bible more and more.
And after having Eden dedicated, I realised that I needed to be baptised.
So, since coming to know Jesus, life hasn't been easy.
I never expect God to lift me out of my circumstances.
Jesus is a rock that I stand on.
And sometimes I don't stand, I cling on for dear life.
But I've never ever been alone.
When I contacted this church, they had no idea of the baggage that I lugged behind me, no idea at all.
But what they did do was welcome me with open arms, and embrace me, and as I began to unpack all that baggage, I saw the love of Jesus, in them, through them and when you can look into the face of Jesus, and know that you have been made new in him, yeah, that's a feeling like no other.
And there is no new age practice that can offer you freedom and peace, or anything, like Jesus.
